By Zephyria Having finished the long story, Jung-bin cleared his throat with a loud noise. His gentle gaze briefly touched Eui-jae’s feet before falling away. Under the flickering streetlight, the swaying shadow stopped. Jung-bin asked with a worried expression.
“…By the way, J, I skipped over it since you didn’t really mention it… but are you alright?”
“Ah, I’m fine.”
“Really?”
“Yes, I know about it, so don’t worry.”
Eui-jae shrugged nonchalantly and then asked playfully.
“By the way, do you happen to know what happened to my assets? Were they returned to the national treasury?”
In the past, when he lived as J, his aunt had handled most of the financial transactions. It was because his identity couldn’t be revealed. He didn’t feel particularly lacking in this regard, and he didn’t have anywhere to spend the money, so he didn’t pay much attention to it.
He doesn’t really need money now either. But he was curious. It’s been eight years.
But Jung-bin gave an answer that he couldn’t have imagined.
“Ah, no. The Director is keeping it. It’s unprecedented, but… yes. It seems the Director somehow managed it.”
Jung-bin hesitated and cautiously added a word.
“The Director also bought the house where Park Hye-kyung Hunter used to live.”
“……”
How long has it been since he heard his aunt’s name from someone else’s mouth? The feeling that the name, which was so familiar and friendly in the past, sounded strange was not very pleasant. Eui-jae openly changed the subject.
“Let’s continue talking about Lee Sa-young.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Jung-bin hesitated, rubbed his fingertips, and opened his mouth.
“Um, it’s actually a hard story to believe. That he reopened a closed Rift. But considering Lee Sa-young’s subsequent actions, he probably meant it.”
“Actions?”
“Um, how should I put it…”
Jung-bin chose his words for a moment and then exhaled as if sighing.
“Yes, he was like a bulldozer… that’s the right expression.”
Bulldozer. A word that didn’t suit Lee Sa-young at all, who always maintained a relaxed and languid attitude. Eui-jae tilted his head slightly.
“Was it that much?”
“Um, the landscape here changed after Lee Sa-young appeared. If J, you quelled the chaos… Lee Sa-young developed what was stable, so to speak. The Hunter world became more systematic, and the power concentrated in the Awakened Management Bureau began to be divided among the Guilds from Lee Sa-young’s appearance.”
“……”
“After Lee Sa-young completed his ability control training in the abandoned house, he returned to headquarters and had his rank measured. Of course, he was an S-rank Hunter without a doubt.”
The third S-rank who appeared in an era of chaos due to J’s absence. Even if the fact that he was in a research facility was hidden, everyone’s attention was focused on him just because of his handsome appearance and dangerous ability.
And he didn’t find it burdensome, but rather accepted all the attention and interest as a matter of course. Rather, he even skillfully wielded it.
“He confidently revealed his name and face.”
Lee Sa-young.
People were enthusiastic about the new S-rank Hunter who revealed his name and face. He was as unruly as his outstanding ability, but no one dared to say anything to him, who had admirably filled J’s void.
“You may or may not know, but at the time, Song Jo-heon Hunter had left the Awakened Management Bureau and established Samra Guild, the first official Guild in Korea. He and the Management Bureau, which was suffering from a manpower shortage, both sent Lee Sa-young a love call, but, um.”
Jung-bin smiled awkwardly.
“He ignored them all…”
It seemed like the ‘damn’ was muted in front, but Jung-bin and Eui-jae decided to pretend not to notice.
Eui-jae recalled Lee Sa-young’s brazen and pretty face. In fact, he was the kind of guy who would do that. Just listening to Jung-bin’s past stories, he had no manners from the start.
‘…No.’
Next to Lee Sa-young, who was smiling with his lips raised, a boy with bandages wrapped around him was slowly settling in.
Wasn’t Lee Sa-young the one who said everything he wanted with his fingers, even though he couldn’t even move his body properly? He had a strong opinion, but he didn’t have bad manners… He did his best in his own way, didn’t he…?
‘Gasp.’
At that moment, Eui-jae suddenly realized something. From the moment they first met until now, Lee Sa-young, who was consistently rude, willful, and had an excellent talent for making people angry, and the boy, who was kind, obedient, but had a strong opinion, were clashing within him!
‘Crazy.’
The face under the mask turned pale. It was as shocking as when branches grew from where bean sprouts were planted.
Could it be that he grew up so rude because I wasn’t there during his growth period? Whether Eui-jae was shuddering at the importance of family education that had come like a thunderbolt, Jung-bin diligently released information.
“…After that, Lee Sa-young handled all sorts of Dungeons and Rifts alone, and when he had accumulated a certain amount of funds, he founded Wave Guild. At that time, he also scouted Bae Won-woo Hunter. I was also offered a position at the time, but…”
Jung-bin trailed off. Eui-jae, who had barely come to his senses, replied.
“You refused, right? I can tell from the fact that you’re still in the Bureau of Rift Management.”
“That’s right. Um, I’m not overestimating myself, but… there must be someone with some power in the Awakened Management Bureau to maintain balance.”
Jung-bin rubbed the corners of his lips.
“Anyway… Wave Guild quickly expanded its influence. Although there were few Hunters, they operated a very large research team and invested generously.”
“Generously, how much…?”
“To the extent that there’s a joke that they used all the money they received from clearing Dungeons and eliminating Rifts for research, so they didn’t actually have anything. Besides, as you know, survival was the priority until then, so full-scale research was not conducted.”
“That’s right.”
Days when even living was difficult. Rifts and Dungeons that appeared from time to time without clear rules, and the first Monsters that poured out. A world where struggling to survive was everything.
Jung-bin said carefully.
“But after the West Sea Rift closed, for a while… it was strangely quiet. Everything. The frequency of Rift appearances decreased to the point where it couldn’t be compared to the past. That’s probably why research was easier.”
“……”
“The research at that time became the driving force for Wave Guild to be selected as one of the top three Guilds in Korea. And, in return for that…”
Eui-jae felt a gaze and raised his head. Jung-bin was staring at him intently. Jung-bin’s lips moved.
“Lee Sa-young received ownership of the West Sea Rift from the government.”
“…Is that possible?”
Eui-jae’s eyes widened. Jung-bin’s gentle face had a firm look. He said as if driving a wedge.
“Yes, the West Sea Rift and its vicinity are managed by Wave Guild. Even now.”
The streetlight flickered erratically. Eui-jae put his hand in his jacket pocket and quietly pondered.
The boy, Lee Sa-young, was dragged to Prometheus’s research facility after J’s death and Awakened there.
Who, how, why. What happened to Lee Sa-young during that one year? The research institute where he was had melted away, and even Jung-bin, who knew the most, didn’t know what happened during the one-year gap.
Only Lee Sa-young would know that.
‘I need to have a proper conversation…’
In the end, Lee Sa-young held the key to the story.
He wanted to know. Everything. He had to know. The things that happened while he was gone. All the things he had to repay. All the things Lee Sa-young had to endure alone. He couldn’t compensate for that time, nor could he dare to comfort him.
And….
Eui-jae bit his lip. Even if he tried to calm down, his chest, which had been agitated throughout the long story, did not calm down easily.
Whether it was anger, sadness, or….
A pale face came to mind. A place where pure white ashes were falling, a precarious shaking ground, and Lee Sa-young standing with his back to the collapsed ruins. Eyes that shone brightly and a word spat out.
‘What if I said I kept waiting?’
Lee Sa-young, who received ownership of the West Sea Rift from the government. Lee Sa-young, who wanted to open the West Sea Rift that had been closed without a trace.
Why on earth?
‘To make a map for lost people.’
Eui-jae regained his trembling arms. He thought everyone had forgotten him. Because he would have already been a dead person.
From the moment he opened his eyes on a pile of garbage and realized that he was already dead in this world, to the moment he saved people from the Rift and calmed his mind. A sense of unease, as if he had come to an uninvited place, was in a corner of his heart. But….
‘I’ll be back.’
Only one person.
‘Will you wait for me?’
If he didn’t believe in his death and kept waiting for him.
“……”
If he kept the selfish promise.
Then, the slow footsteps that crossed the green floor of the playground rang out. A lazy voice mixed with laughter said.
“You guys look close.”
Jung-bin covered his forehead with a troubled face. The footsteps stopped right behind Eui-jae. An arm that reached out without hesitation wrapped around Eui-jae’s shoulder like a snake, and soft hair brushed against his ear and cheek. A firm chin touched the other shoulder. A low voice rang out.
“Did you two have a secret meeting or something?”
A finger wearing a black leather glove playfully rubbed Eui-jae’s cheek and then fell away. Lee Sa-young, who straightened his upper body, tilted his head.
“But… this is a childish place for a secret meeting.”